Merseytravel, Ecebs, ITSO and other leading organisations discuss key issues in transport

UK’s leading event dedicated to smart technology in transport attracts record numbers. “Going forward” was the main theme for this September’s Transport Card Forum, where over 100 transport industry professionals gathered.

Oct. 29, 2012 - PRLog -- Chaired by the DfT and hosted by Merseytravel, the two-day Transport Card Forum event took place at Merseytravel’s HQ in Liverpool and was attended by delegates across the industry spectrum, including a number of local and national bus and rail operating companies. Sixteen specialists led sessions including case studies, panel debates, educative topics and a range of views on the desirable – and likely – future for smart cards and NFC mobiles for ticketing and payment processes.

Day one kicked off with a keynote from event sponsor Ecebs on the evolution of ITSO Part 11 and how it can enable the delivery of added functionality in schemes like Walrus, followed by ITSO and SEFT updates, and an overview of NFC in public transport from Vodafone UK.

Day two included sessions from ATOC, Velvet Bus, the DfT, PWC, First Group, South Yorkshire PTE, Merseyrail, MVA Consultancy and more. These addressed the bus operating company perspective, the DfT’s smart ticketing strategy, and a panel debate on the future of smart ticketing and payment on rail.

Councillor Liam Robinson, chair of Merseytravel, who gave the opening address at the event said: “Anticipation has been building over the past year for our all-in-one smart card scheme and we’re thrilled at the response we’ve received at the Transport Card Forum. It’s great to be able to give first-hand demos to a cross-section of the industry at events like this and we’re excited about what the future holds”.

Richard Poynder, principal of Smartex (which operates the Transport Card Forum) added: “This event was the second biggest in our 20 years of running our UK forums, and reflects the high level of interest in the future use of smart technology in public transport. I was therefore especially delighted to have this meeting in Walrus territory”.

A small exhibition also supported the conference, and featured Ecebs, Payne Security, Zebra, ESP Systex, Verifone, General Information Systems, Almex, Applied Card Technologies and Merseytravel.